Unwelcome Discovery
by SiuanSedai
Summary: During their time in Emond's Field, Moiraine and Lan discover something they had wished would never happen. Slightly Moiraine/Lan at the end.


This started out as a completely different story, and after the first couple of paragraphs it took a different direction. So I still have a plot bunny hopping around my head begging me to find a way to write it properly :)

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It was quaint, this small region that had forgotten that it belonged to Andor. Although the villagers were educated, the majority of them cared more for their sheep and tabac than for books. Lan doubted that some of them had even _heard_ of Andor aside from in gleemen's tales.

What was the boy's name? Lan couldn't remember. A bunch of young boys, their ages probably ranging from twelve to about fifteen, had converged on he and Moiraine as they walked through Emond's Field. It was a pity that they were so young. If they had been just a few years older, he could have picked one out as the Dragon Reborn. He would be a leader, no doubt, instinctively followed by all those who found themselves in his presence. Or maybe he would be feared, reviled by those who knew what he could do, what he would do. What he was destined to do, as all male channellers for the last three thousand years, since the Breaking. The Breaking which he was destined to start anew.

Or maybe he hadn't started channelling yet. It started later in men than in women; it was perfectly possible that the lad could yet be innocent of who he really was. Lan hoped that that was the case – no one deserved that burden. Not even the Dragon.

He quashed the sympathy before it took root. If the boy had not yet begun to channel, it would be much harder to identify him without alerting the villagers to the true reason behind their presence. As a Warder, his job was to make Moiraine's life easier and safer. Getting them both chased out of Emond's Field for asking too many questions that linked one of their boys to the Dragon Reborn would accomplish neither.

"Lady Moiraine?" a voice piped up. Lan turned quickly, ready as always to defend her if need be. But it was only one of the village boys, sitting on a sturdy fence.

"Yes, Ewin?" Moiraine said gently. The boy clearly revelled in the fact that she remembered his name. Lan could feel satisfaction through her bond; he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and mutter _'women'_. The boy couldn't be more than fourteen years old; how could it possibly matter whether he was fascinated by her or not?

"You're an Aes Sedai, aren't you?" the boy said, looking around furtively and dropping his voice to a whisper. Lan felt a flash of shock through their bond, but Moiraine covered it well. He doubted Ewin had noticed it, even though he was obviously observant.

"How did you know that?" Lan growled, his hand moving towards his sword. If the boy was a Darkfriend, it was better to be safe than sorry…

"You're Lady Moiraine's Warder, aren't you," Ewin said nervously, then gulped and turned to Moiraine. "Uh… I mean, Lady Moiraine Sedai…"

"As I said earlier, Ewin, please call me Moiraine," she said. Ewin nodded and looked warily at Lan.

"Who told you that?" Lan demanded again. Ewin looked as if he wanted nothing more than to flee.

"A lady showed me a picture a month or so ago!" he yelped. "Me and Dav went off on an adventure, and we got into big trouble when we got back, but we just wanted to do what Rand and Mat and Perrin did… anyway, there was a lady and she showed us a picture of you and said if we saw her we had to give a letter to the next peddler to come and address it to Mierin and –" he cut off, suddenly fearful of Moiraine. "She used the Power on us, Lady – I mean, Moiraine Sedai – and she said it would hurt even more if we told anyone in the village about her. Are all Aes Sedai like that?"

"What did she look like, Ewin?" Moiraine asked.

"She was really tall and even more beautiful than you…" Ewin trailed off, knowing that wasn't a good thing to say to any woman. Moiraine gestured for him to continue. "Er, she had dark hair and eyes and she had a white dress and I think she had silver bracelets but I'm not sure… Are you going to do what she did to me, Lady Moiraine?"

The boy was clearly terrified. Almost as terrified as Moiraine. Lan could feel shock and fear warring for supremacy within her. Even after so many years, it surprised him that her face was utterly calm.

"No Ewin, I'm not going to hurt you," she said slowly, but she reached out to hold his head in her hands. Ewin was shaking; Lan pitied the poor boy. He had obviously encountered a most unpleasant wilder, but hopefully no permanent damage had been done. The last thing the Two Rivers needed was a mini-Whitecloak among them.

A few seconds later, Ewin blinked.

"Could you bring Dav to me, Ewin? Oh, please take this coin as a token of gratitude for telling me such fascinating stories about your village," Moiraine said, pressing a silver piece into his hand. Ewin's face showed the same joy as previously as he scampered off in search of his friend.

"I made him forget, Lan," she explained. Lan nodded, and a few minutes later Dav Ayellin sidled up to Moiraine, eying her with trepidation. Again, Moiraine reached out and channelled, and Dav blinked. She repeated the same expression of gratitude as she had to Ewin, and the boy left with a silver coin clutched tightly in his hand.

"Let us return to the inn, Lan," Moiraine said. Lan nodded, and they made their way across the village to the Winespring Inn, home of a girl with the potential to be one of the most powerful Aes Sedai in a thousand years.

The moment they were in Moiraine's room and the door was shut, she leant against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to retain some semblance of self-control.

"Mierin…" she murmured. "I have seen that name documented in old manuscripts… the mentions are few and far between, but there are enough to be certain of her identity…"

"Who was she, Moiraine?" Lan asked.

"Mierin Eronaile… one of the most powerful Aes Sedai ever to have existed. Ewin and Dav would have known her if she named herself by the name she took after joining the Dark One…" Moiraine shook her head slowly. Lan had a horrible feeling that he knew exactly who she meant.

"One of the Forsaken. Semirhage, if the tales about her liking to cause pain contain any truth," Lan guessed. Moiraine shook her head again, this time to refute his suggestion.

"Lanfear," she said, and speaking that name, her calm broke and she sank down until she was sitting on the hard stone floor. Lan was kneeling in front of her in two strides, and he wrapped her up in a tight embrace.

"How much longer do we have, Lan?" she whispered into his shoulder. "If Lanfear is free already, how long before the other twelve are released too? And how long after that will the Dark One break free of his prison and touch the world?"

"So we keep searching for the Dragon Reborn, Moiraine. You are sure that he is here in the Two Rivers, and we will find him soon. And he will win Tarmon Gai'don, and the Dark One will be defeated," Lan reassured her.

He realised that they were both kneeling on a cold stone floor – no place for a lady. He stood up with Moiraine in his arms and carried her over to her bed, placing her down as gently as a baby.

"Rest, Moiraine. You are exhausted from our journey, and you cannot Heal yourself," Lan commanded. There were times when the balance of control in their relationship needed to be shifted.

"Will you stay with me?" Moiraine asked quietly. Lan nodded, concealing his surprise. A Cairhienin through and through, Moiraine took her privacy whenever she could get it. Then again, discovering that Lanfear was free could do that to anyone.

He pulled up a chair and sat on it, holding onto the delicate hand that reached out to him. Moiraine fell asleep quickly, more tired than she would admit, but Lan could find no rest.

The Daughter of the Night was free. Lanfear could touch the world, walk around in it, harm it as she wished. Lan wished for a moment that he could go downstairs and get so drunk he couldn't remember a thing. But that would not solve anything; instead it would merely waste time that could be spent searching for the saviour of the world, a young man expected and feared by all.

Lan wondered if Moiraine was dreaming. He hoped she wasn't. No good dreams could possibly come out of this day. But just in case, he leant over and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.


End file.
